Stories from the TARDIS
by ImWithYouTilTheEndOfTheLine
Summary: Set for the Doctor after Capaldi's. The Twelfth Doctor has just regenerated, leaving behind a new face, a new personality, and a universe to save and keep safe from aliens, astronauts, and archaeologists (they always get the facts wrong). This is the story of his adventures with Alexandria Estelle and the TARDIS.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, as had it been in my possession, I never would've allowed The Eleventh Doctor to regenerate in December.

Chapter 1

He stumbled into the TARDIS, gasping what he knew were his final breaths in this body. He didn't want to regenerate, not again. Hopefully this would be less painful and scary than his last one. His hand was glowing, and the gold was spreading as he breathed his final breath. The gold was all around him, painfully changing his face as his old body disappeared and was replaced with a new one.

"Hmmm. Shorter. I'll have to get used to this." His thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the door of his TARDIS. "Visitors already?" He questioned, walking to the door. Pulling it open, he watched as a young girl, probably in her late teens or early twenties, stumbled in. He peeped out and saw a skyline with loads of skyscrapers, then heard a faint murmur of,

"It's smaller on the outside!"

"You know," he said, turning to face the girl, "only one other person has said that besides you."

"How many people have been in this… box?" She asked, tugging on a strand of reddish brown hair.

"Well, first off, it's not a box, it's a TARDIS, say it with me: tarrrrrrrdis. Ooh sassy this self is sassy. Anyways, TARDIS, time and relative dimension in space. Tarrrrrr-"

"Shut up!" The girl snapped at him. He looked over and saw that she had tracks of mascara down her face and was wearing a red dress that seemed a bit… small. He looked through his doors again and saw it was snowing outside.

"What are you wearing that for?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"It's the New Year, idiot! I went to a party!"

"It's snowing!"

"It's Boston in the winter, no dip it's snowing!"

"Boston? As in, America?" He asked.

"Noooooo as in Mars. Where do you think?"

"Hey. Be nice. But… you're british. Your accent is british. Why?"

"Ugh," she sighed, preparing to tell a story. "I was dropped at an orphanage in England as a baby, adopted, moved to America, and went to a college in England. By the way, seeing as you're learning what is basically my life story, what's your name?"

"I'm The Doctor," he replied proudly.

"Doctor what? And which profession?" She didn't trust him, he could see a glimmer of fear in her green eyes.

"Just The Doctor. And what's your name?"

"I'm Alexandria. But uh… call me Alex."

"Alexandria. Alexandria. Sounds… ancient. Powerful. It's an imperial name, you know. Why shorten it?"

"I don't like the name Alexandria. It's too long and elegant for a regular day. Alex, however, is a typical nickname for a typical girl. If only I were typical."

"Oh no. Don't say that. You never want to be typical. Not ever."

"But I do. I was adopted into a family of Harvard graduates. I have so many expectations on me. And why do I keep telling you this? I don't really know you."

"Excellent question, Alexandria. Now, please get out of my TARDIS."

"Excuse me?" Alex questioned, seemingly insulted by the abrupt dismissal from the strange man's presence.

"You heard me. While I don't mean to be rude, rudeness was a trait from a few selves ago, I really need you to leave. I honestly can't have you stay here, due to the fact I don't know you, and I don't know if you can handle the stuff I see."

"Is that a challenge? Because I highly doubt the stuff you see could be any worse than this dismal life."

"Oh, I think it can my dear. You see, I'm an alien from the planet Gallifrey. Before you open your mouth to tell me aliens don't exist, please rethink that statement and keep it shut, as I don't want to have this discussion with you. I am a Time Lord, and I have the ability to regenerate, or change my entire body. It's a way of cheating death. Now, I just regenerated, so I do hope I've become more handsome. Please, don't ask questions, and off we pop on a great Bostonian adventure, because I sense something is amiss," The Doctor narrated.

"What?" Alex asked, a confused expression seemingly frozen on her face.

"That's a question!" Was the reply as The Doctor hurried into the chilled winter air.

Author's Note: That was the first chapter, but not the first "episode", so to speak. The episodes will probably last a span of 2-3 chapters. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alex rushed after The Doctor, trying to keep up in her ridiculously tall red heels.

"You know, it would've been smart of you to wear sneakers… and a coat," The Doctor called over his shoulder, laughing at the ridiculous sight of the girl teetering across the street. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. When she did, she raised a shaky finger and glared for a moment before beginning.

"Not many females wear sneakers to a party, and I had a coat, however I left quickly," she lectured through chattering teeth. The Doctor shrugged off his navy blue overcoat with the red inside and handed it to Alex, as he'd finally felt some guilt for her cold. "Thanks", she replied as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Why did you leave your coat, though?" He asked, for he still didn't understand why she couldn't have grabbed her coat and left.

"The topic of discussion was a bad one for me, and let's leave it at that."

"Okay then, Alexandria."

"I told you not to call me that," Alex grumbled, trudging along. They walked a few more blocks before The Doctor perked up and glanced at Alex, his eyes shining with the thought of an adventure.

"I think I've found the source of our alien," he said, then took out a small pole shaped object and pressed a button. It made a few sputtering noises then stopped. "No! NO!" He yelled, tossing the object to the ground.

"What happened?" Alex asked, feeling slightly worried about the reaction to a small metallic pole's death.

"My sonic screwdriver broke!" He said, seemingly close to tears.

"Um… not to sound like I don't care, but what the hell is a sonic screwdriver and why the hell does it matter?" Alex inquired.

"It scans things, and can do many other cool things… well it could."

"Oh. Well I'm sorry that it's broken," Alex said, still a little concerned about the man's attachment to it.

"Anyways, what are your thoughts on just barging into this building? I mean, it's just your possible death in there, but there are also some possible answers to questions."

"My thoughts? Why the hell not?" Alex answered.

"Well, Alexandria, there may be a space in the TARDIS for you yet," The Doctor said with a laugh.

^.~.~.~.^

After they'd gotten into the building, using an open door as there was a New Year's Eve party, they stood in the lobby to discuss their plan of attack.

"So take the elevator up to the top floor then completely wing it?" The Doctor asked, staring at Alex with a studying eye.

"Do you know what kind of alien we're dealing with?"

"Uh… nope," The Doctor replied, but was soon distracted by the earpiece sparking in a doorman's ear, and how the doorman wasn't reacting. "Scratch that, yes. Let's go meet some Cybermen!" He called over his shoulder as he ran to the elevator. They entered the elevator after it had arrived (and it arrived after The Doctor obsessively pushed the button). With elevator music in the background, they stood for a bit, each thinking of what they were getting into.

"Doctor?" Alex asked.

"Yeah?"

"Um… not to sound stupid, but what exactly is a Cyberman?"

"A Cyberman is a metal creature made out of humans. They are virtually indestructible, and have no emotions. It is very painful to become one, and very tragic to be one," The Doctor answered, tones of remorse in his voice.

"Did… did someone close to you become one?" Alex inquired, feeling slightly guilty for asking about them in the first place.

"No, but my first companion after a huge war on my planet and I went to a parallel universe, and her mother in the parallel universe died becoming a Cyberman, and then she was trapped in the parallel universe after a battle between the Cybermen and the Daleks… it was the Battle of Canary Wharf, you might remember it, and then there were countless other times, including the one where the leader of the Cybermen got into my head and was controlling me… that sucked."

"Wow… sounds like you definitely have experience with them," Alex replied.

"Oh! And then there was the time when my good friend, Craig, almost became one but was saved by his child's crying."

"Uh-" Alex was about to respond when the elevator dinged and The Doctor covered her mouth.

"We have to be silent," he whispered. "If the Cybermen hear us, they'll turn you into one of them or kill you, and they'll definitely kill me."

"Why? Because of all the times you've attacked them?"

"Well, they would probably feel some amount of hate if they could feel, but actually it's because of the fact that I am a Time Lord and have slightly different anatomy than humans, for example, two hearts."

"Two?"

"Yes, now move! And take off your heels. They'll make too much noise and you can't run in them."

"Fine," Alex hissed, stepping out of them and racing down the hall after The Doctor, the only sign of their presence at the elevator being a pair of red pumps. When she caught up with him, he stopped her in front of a door and leaned his ear against it, while Alex copied him. On the other side of the door they could hear the whirring screeches of machinery and screams of agony from what seemed to be people. Alex stumbled back with a horrified expression on her face.

"Is that…?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm afraid so," The Doctor murmured, watching the girl's reactions intently with piercing gray eyes. "You're empathetic, aren't you? That's a good trait, you know."

"Um… thanks. Now we should probably find whoever is causing this to happen, and put an end to it before more people get hurt." They turned around to explore the different rooms, only to come face to face with a silver robotic head.

"You. Are. Incompatible. You. Will. Be. Deleted."

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! The third chapter will probably be up within the next week or so.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You. Are. Incompatible. You. Will. Be. Deleted." The Cyberman's metal arm raised up, and The Doctor grabbed Alex and shoved her out of the way before she could come to any harm. Alex scrambled up from where she fell to the floor and sprinted down another hallway, The Doctor following her. They heard metal footsteps clamping after them and ducked quickly into another room. This one was an office with a shiny gold nameplate on the desk, labeling the room as Andrew Dirk's. Alex sat on the desk as The Doctor leaned against a wall.

"So that's a Cyberman?" Alex asked, looking at The Doctor.

"Yeah," he replied, glancing nervously at the door. He looked over at Alex, but then was distracted by something behind her. She turned and saw there was a mirror mounted on the wall. The Doctor rubbed his chin, then muttered, "Young-looking again. Wonderful." The clamping footsteps continued down the hallway, and The Doctor looked away from his reflection and towards the door. He took a step over, then opened it a crack and peered into the hallway, then he looked back at Alexandria, opened the door, and said, "Ladies first." She hurried into the hallway and The Doctor followed close behind, silently closing the door behind himself.

"What do we do now?" Alex muttered.

"We follow that Cyberman, because hopefully they're going to their leader, and we can then negotiate to get them off Earth and to a new planet."

"Okay," Alex whispered, then hurried down the hallway, following the sound of the metal footfalls. The Doctor followed her, determined to keep Earth safe from the Cybermen. They turned a few corners and then the Cyberman walked into a room.

"That must be the place," The Doctor murmured. Alex snuck over to the door and saw it was open a crack. She looked in and saw a huge amount of Cybermen surrounding one lead Cyberman. They appeared to be listening to what the lead Cyberman was saying, but she couldn't make it out. The Doctor dragged her away from the door and whispered, "What were they doing in there?"

"It seemed like they were having a meeting, maybe forming a plan, but I don't know for sure," Alex replied.

"Well we need our own plan, because we probably can't just barge in and expect them to hear us out. We have to carefully plot this, otherwise we're screwed. Now then, Alexandria, what should we do?"

"Why are you asking me?" she hissed. "You have more experience with them!"

"Exactly. I know what to do, and I'm biased. I want to know what you think."

"I think that we should probably just walk in and say that we don't want to fight, then talk to their leader and try to figure something out."

"Okay then, let's try your idea."

"Seriously? I'm an amateur at this!"

"You'll get better," The Doctor muttered as he guided her to the door. "Are you ready?" he asked, placing his hand on the doorknob to yank it open.

"As I'll ever be," Alex replied uncertainly.

"Okay… one… two… THREE!" he yelled as he pulled the door open. Every Cyberman's head turned toward the door as The Doctor and Alex scrambled in. Alex felt her heart rate skyrocket as she looked into the army of blank-faced robots.

"Who. Are. You. And. Why. Are. You. Here?" the lead Cyberman asked.

"I'm The Doctor, new regeneration, hello, and this is Alexandria… last name please?"

"Est- Estelle," she stammered.

"Estelle," he repeated. "As for why I'm here, I'd like to make a proposal to you if you're okay with that. Could you perhaps take this army of Cybermen you have here to a different planet and stop making more of yourselves out of other living beings?"

"No."

"And why not?" Alexandria asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the Cybermen.

"We. Must. Have. More. In. Our. Army."

"What is the point of your army?" Alex continued to inquire.

"To. Defeat. The. Universe."

"Why would you want to do that?" she interrogated.

"The. Cybermen. Should. Be. The. Only. Race."

"Well you see sir, that's a bad decision, as I am The Doctor, and it's my job to protect all races of the universe, so you'll just have to be stopped."

"You. Will. Have. To. Be. Deleted," the Cyberman vocalized. The Doctor and Alex exchanged looks.

"RUN!" The Doctor yelled. They sprinted down the hallway, and ran towards the elevators with the clanking of cyber feet behind them. The Doctor punched the elevator button rapidly as the Cybermen closed in on them.

"Delete. Delete. Delete." It was an apocalyptic chorus of robotic voices, each one entering its monotonous voice to the commotion. At this time, Alex realized three things. One, that there were Cybermen closing in on her and if she didn't act fast, she'd die. Two, Cybermen are robots, and robots are short circuited by water. Three, pulling a fire alarm causes the sprinklers to go off, and fire alarms are always located next to elevators. She glanced over and yanked the fire alarm. The sprinklers came on and the Cybermen sparked to their deaths.

"That was easier than expected," Alex said, ignoring the fact that she was getting soaked.

"But… but how?" The Doctor stammered.

"What do you mean? Water kills robots. It's a known fact."

"Yes, but the Cybermen used to be able to upgrade themselves into indestructible beings."

"I don't know, what if they're upgrading?!" Alex asked, a note of hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Maybe that's in their future," The Doctor wondered. "Either way, they're dead now. And we should probably take the stairs." As The Doctor and Alex walked to the stairs, a sparking Cyberman head in the back of the room flared to life for a split second.

"Up… grade… soft… ware…"

^.~.~.~.^

They sprinted down the stairs, Alex's barefoot feet slapping the cold metal.

"It's going to be a fun time explaining what happened to my parents," Alex said sarcastically.

"Yeah… I'll go with you," The Doctor offered.

"It might be best if you don't, actually. My parents will already be upset that I ruined this dress and lost my shoes, walking in with a strange man might make it a little worse."

"At least let me take you back to your house with my TARDIS," The Doctor said, feeling bad that he'd caused the girl's night to be ruined.

"Oh, alright," Alex replied. "One last time going back in that box. I suppose. But what do you mean take me back to my house? A telephone box is stationary."

"You'll see," The Doctor smirked. They walked back to his TARDIS, shivering all the way. He opened the door for her then walked in behind her. She walked around the TARDIS, looking at all the buttons and levers on the console, and brushing her hands on the railings. The Doctor heard a faint hum come from the TARDIS, as if the Old Girl was telling him she liked the young girl.

"Now, where do you live, Alexandria Estelle?" The Doctor asked. Alex told him her address, and he pressed a few levers and off they flew. After a bit of a rough landing, he opened the doors of the TARDIS to the outside of Alex's parent's apartment complex.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Alex said, almost sounding like she was holding back tears.

"Yeah…" The Doctor responded.

"Well it was nice meeting you, and I enjoyed having a near-death experience in your company. Now have fun saving the universe!" Alex laughed, but The Doctor could tell she wanted to cry. She turned away from him and began to walk towards her apartments when the TARDIS made a violent humming sound, almost protesting Alex's departure. The Doctor realized he felt the same way, and he knew that Alex could handle the aliens of the universe after she'd killed off every Cyberman and saved their lives.

"Alex! Wait!" The Doctor called after her, running to catch up.

"Yeah?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I was wondering… well… would you like to come with me in my TARDIS as my companion?" The Doctor asked, looking down to his feet.

"You mean… live in that box? With you? And travel the universe?" She asked, a faint smile on her face.

"Uh… yeah."

"Well, it certainly beats another semester of college, but I probably need to at least tell my parents some kind of lie, and pack my things," Alex replied.

"How about you just tell them the truth?"

"Did you miss the fact that they're Harvard graduates? They'll take you to their scientist friends and prove that aliens exist!" She protested.

"Then how about you're going traveling?"

"Alright. Stay right here, don't run off in your little box or anything," Alex called as she ran to her apartment.

"I won't," The Doctor replied as he entered his TARDIS, smiling to himself as he imagined the adventures to come.

Author's Note: That was the first episode and the fourth chapter should be posted within the next week. Thank you for reading!


End file.
